By Ryan - Posted on August 19, 2009
After another race determined by fuel and pit strategy, NASCAR News reporters interviewed Brian Vickers in Victory Lane at Michigan International Speedway after the Carfax 400. The dominant #48 car, driven by Jimmie Johnson, led 165 laps, but a decision to stay out during what turned out to be the final caution lap cost him the win, as he ran out of gas with 2 laps left.
With Vickers’ second win under his belt, and Toyota’s first win in Michigan, it could be easy to underestimate the Red Bull Racing driver’s talent. But you would have to discount the fact that this is the sixth race this year that he’s started from the pole. Additionally, though he’s on the outside looking in right now in terms of the Chase for the Cup, Mark Martin’s 13 point lead on Vickers is very easy to overcome, given Brian’s 4 top fives and 11 top tens this year. In fact, this led to some confusion between driver and crew chief concerning pit strategy late in the race. In Victory Lane, Brian said, “I've got to say that, at the moment, it wasn't what I expected [crew chief Ryan Pemberton] to do, knowing where we're at in the Chase -- but it was the right call. The minute he made it, I had complete faith in it. He hasn't run me out of fuel yet.”
When it comes to fuel strategy, the crew chief is doing the math and the driver has to have complete trust that he has enough to pull off those last 4 laps. Pemberton and Vickers seem to have figured out the formula. On the other hand, Jimmie Johnson may have unintentionally thrown crew chief Chad Knaus under the bus for choosing to stay out on the final caution laps. Johnson told reporters after the race, “I'm certainly frustrated. We've won one race on fuel mileage, ever. It's just what we're not good at. I think it's a little too risky for us to even try it. We got lucky once in Phoenix. Outside of that we always come up short." Racing is a team sport and sometimes teammates argue about bad calls, and Knaus certainly made a bad call. After that statement to the media, it’s doubtful that the #48 team wants to head to the shop on Monday morning.
